20 Responses to Andrew McGuiness writes

  1. rob says:

    The BBC again treats Christianity with contempt.

    “A BBC television programme mocking Jesus which featured a crucifix covered in excrement has been criticised by the Governors for causing gratuitous offence to Christians.
    The BBC Three comedy Cyderdelic was branded “blasphemous and gratuitous” by one viewer. It was initially cleared by the BBC’s head of programme complaints, but the viewer appealed to the Governors, who ruled that it had breached guidelines on taste and decency.

    In the same scene, one character repeatedly stated that “Jesus Christ is a bell end”.”
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,173-1343064,00.html

    A struggle to get BBC management to acknowledge the offense. They might have had a sharper eye to spot any slight against Islam – but then they may cycle to work & are wary of crazed killers.

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  2. rob says:

    “America’s dependence on oil imports will do little to allay concerns about the US economy.”

    And lets think, how much home produced oil is available to avoid concerns for the economies of Japan, Germany or France?

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  3. Andrew McGuinness says:

    They’ve finally noticed that oil is down
    :
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3981455.stm

    Unlike the non-existent increase, the fall has no connection whatever to the US election, but is due to rising stockpiles.

    Yet other oil analysts, such as Venezuela’s energy minister Rafael Ramirez, take an opposing view, and warn that oil prices have yet to peak.

    “We see the market as unstable,” Mr Ramirez said.

    “US policy in the Middle East does not help stability in the petroleum market. It creates instability.”

    Note, the energy minister of a large oil exporter is an “Oil Analyst” with no incentive to talk up the price of oil.

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  4. Lurker says:

    Just a bit of context:

    I think Ive heard of Cyderdelic before. They are actually a piss take of crusty/new age/moonbat types.

    A bit like Goldie Looking Chain except I think GLC are a bit more in love with the world view they appear ridicule.

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  5. theghostofredken says:

    Rob: “And lets think, how much home produced oil is available to avoid concerns for the economies of Japan, Germany or France?” I think it would be fair to say that US oil consumption is far greater than the other countries you’ve just mentioned.

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  6. Rob Read says:

    and the BBC’s Monkey Dust does seem to hand it out quite a bit to the Grauniad reading types.

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  7. David says:

    I’ve no problem generally with people being offensive to religions but (a) I think it is pathetic and hypocritcial the way all our suppsoedly cutting edge comedians NEVER take a pop at Mohammed or Islam – it;s not as though with his 9 year old wife, his nine wives a night habit and his love of enslaivng people that he can’t eb an object of satire (b) I think our national TV channels paid for by the licence fee have a duty to behave a little more responsibly than other arms of the media – I wouldn’t expect them to be gratuitously offensive to religions.

    David

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  8. theghostofredken says:

    “…it;s not as though with his 9 year old wife, his nine wives a night habit and his love of enslaivng people that he can’t eb an object of satire…” Anyone we know? Or are we just talking stereotypes again? And doesn’t point (a) contradict point (b)?

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  9. Susan says:

    Er, I think David was talking about Muhammad.

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  10. Roxana Cooper says:

    Mohammed did have eight or nine wives – not sure if that number includes slave girl concubines – and his favorite Aisha was only nine when he married her, according to Aisha herself.

    Now mind you child marriage was acceptable practice in sixth c. Arabia, as was massacring the men and enslaving the women and children of your enemies. It is perhaps not entirely fair to blame Mohammed for behaving like a man of his time.

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  11. Pete _ London says:

    There is truth in what you say, Roxana. But do his 21st Centrury descendents have to behave like men of Mohammed’s time?

    If we are to accept that he was merely being a man of his time then we have to apply the principles universally … so let’s have no bitching, whining and squealing about our British, imperialist, colonialist predecessors.

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  12. Pete _ London says:

    Mohammed’s (praise be to Him, allahu Akhber, badda bing badda bing, wibble wibble aardvark) missus was 6 when they married. She was 9 when the marriage was consumated. At that point he was 54.

    http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/ayesha.htm

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  13. Pete _ London says:

    By the way, do you think the BBC’s online religious guide will point this out?

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  14. Natalie Solent says:

    Some Muslims say that the “six” and “nine” describing Aisha’s age are colloquialisms for sixteen and nineteen. That does not seem unlikely, as Italian does something similar with century numbers.

    I have no opinion as to which intepretation is correct.

    I agree with David that the national broadcaster should not be gratuitously offensive to any religion. (This is not incompatible with supporting the right of other media outlets to be gratuitously offensive if they wish – and the right of others to criticise their offensiveness.)

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  15. Susan says:

    “Some Muslims say that the “six” and “nine” describing Aisha’s age are colloquialisms for sixteen and nineteen.”

    Only after Islam got established in the West and Western people started to show they were repulsed by Ayesha’s age when she took up sexual relations with Muhammad, did this story start to go around.

    Islamic law firmly states that a girl reaches marriageable age (and therefore maturity) at age 9 — not 19 or 16 — based on Ayesha’s age at the consummation of her marriage to Mo. And it is has been that way under sharia for 1400 years. This is the law in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

    But anyways, it’s the double standards of the BBC on religion that upsets me the most.

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  16. David says:

    Susan –

    Quite correct. Also, we have the well-attested Hadith reporting what Aisha herself said about being taken away from her playmates and dolls.

    Also – it was NOT normal practice in Arabian society at the time for consummation to take place at such a yuong age.

    David

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  17. Roxana Cooper says:

    There is truth in what you say, Roxana. But do his 21st Centrury descendents have to behave like men of Mohammed’s time?”

    This of course is the problem. The times they have a’ changed!

    “If we are to accept that he was merely being a man of his time then we have to apply the principles universally … so let’s have no bitching, whining and squealing about our British, imperialist, colonialist predecessors.”

    I couldn’t agree more!

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  18. Roxana Cooper says:

    “Also – it was NOT normal practice in Arabian society at the time for consummation to take place at such a yuong age.”

    Possibly not, but it wouldn’t have been the enormity it seems today either. The ages of his other wives suggest Mohammed was not a pedophile. Maybe Aisha was unusually well grown for her age and had passed menarche (it happens) or maybe there were urgent reasons to put the marriage – which seems to have been a political alliance – beyond doubt.

    Whatever the reason it’s unfortunate that this should be used as precedent to justify child marriage in the 21st c.

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  19. theghostofredken says:

    Apologies David, stick-wrong end of…

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  20. Pete _ London says:

    Socialist Eurofag

    How’s the weather on your planet today?

    “Some Westerners, you might have noted, wish to preserve a “traditional” definition of marriage that “traditionally” made women the property of their husbands.”

    Who are they? References are appreciated in some parts you know, this isn’t a left site.

    “… biased only towards what you might call the consensus middle-class view — hardly surprising since its employees are members of that class!”

    Well this is just the point, isn’t it? Their view is predominently left-liberal. If its the consensus middle-class view, then only of parts of Norht and West London. Get out and see a bit of life.

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